America Ferrera, the Emmy and Golden Globe winning actor, will make her directorial debut with a feature film which will be an adaptation of the New York Times bestselling novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sánchez, Netflix announced on Wednesday in a press release.
Talking about the film, Ferrera said in the press release, “Years ago, I fell in love with Erika L Sánchez’ stunning novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. The depth, wit and searing intelligence of her writing, and her young Latina heroine, struck me to my core and left me wanting so much more.”
The script will be written by Linda Yvette Chávez, the award-winning American-Mexican screenwriter and producer who created Netflix’s hit series Gentefied with Marvin Lemus.
“I am truly honored and humbled to direct Linda Yvette Chávez’s beautifully adapted screenplay. The opportunity to direct the work of these two incredibly talented Latina writers is a dream come true. I can’t wait to share this film with the many fans of the novel, and to introduce this funny, profound, and resonant story to the world,” Ferrera said in the press release.
According to Netflix, the story follows Julia Reyes, the precocious and strong-willed teenaged daughter of first-generation Mexican immigrants. She often clashes with her more traditional parents, who wish she were more like her sister Olga, the platonic ideal of a Mexican daughter. After Olga is killed in a tragic accident, it is up to Julia to hold her family together.
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Anonymous Content’s Doreen Wilcox Little, Macro’s Charles D King, and Poppy Hanks are producing the movie with Aevitas Creative Management’s David Kuhn. Aevitas’s Michelle Brower and Macro’s Greta Fuentes are executive producing. Sánchez, the author of the book, will also serve as co-producer.
Best known for her role in TV series Ugly Betty, Ferrera has won at the Golden Globe Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and later the Primetime Emmy Award for playing the titular character in the show. Previously she has directed episodes of Superstore, the NBC comedy in which she also starred.